1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates of petroleum jelly compositions (water-in-oil emulsions) which are easily rinsable in water.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,852,475 that the inclusion of hydrophobic starch in topical compositions containing solid petroleum jelly reduces the greasy appearance and feel normally associated with such compositions as well as reducing the resistance of the compositions to washing with cold water soap and detergent compositions. The compositions that are shown in this patent contain no aqueous phase, are anhydrous formulations and, therefore, are not emulsions. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,514 indicates that petroleum jelly containing up to 30% by weight of a combination dispersing agent comprising cetyl alcohol, lanolin alcohols and alkoxylated fatty acid esters of sorbitol can be dispersed in water without the use of additional soaps or detergents. Once again, this reference relates to petroleum jelly compositions which do not contain a water phase and are thus anhydrous in nature. The compositions shown in this patent are merely designed to be dispersed in water and consist of an oil phase in combination with the dispersing agent only.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,489,690 describes water-in-oil emulsions which can contain petroleum jelly (e.g., from 13%- 32%, by weight), but these emulsions are water resistant and removable only by using a cleansing cream or lotion.
Transparent mineral oil-water gels comprising oil and water soluble emulsifiers are covered in U.S Pat. No. 3,228,842. Although these are described as being water rinsable, this patent fails to contain any incentive to use petroleum jelly in place of, or even with, the mineral oil component since it clearly indicates that mineral oil offers "unique and distinctive" advantages, in part, by lacking the "tackiness typical of some other oils and synthetic oils". The compositions described in the '842 patent differ from the compositions of the present invention: they are oil-in-water microemulsions rather than being a water-in-oil gel emulsion; they rely upon oil and water soluble ethoxylated surfactants, rather than the present compositions which use a detergent/emulsifier combination having certain desired characteristics; and they fail to contain any petroleum jelly component and, in fact, teach away from use of such a component.
Significantly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,617,754 also appears to provide, if anything, a negative suggestion of the present invention, which is to be described in greater detail below. Since it indicates (at Col. 3, lines 11-16) that mixtures of mineral oil and "mineral wax" (a term it uses for petroleum jelly), even if combined with emulsifiers, are so strongly hydrophobic in nature that, when spread on the face or hands, they are not removable by water alone. More recently, page 225 of Cosmetic and Toiletry Formulations by E. W. Flick lists a petrolatum/emulsifier cream which is indicated as being "oily" since "it is not dispersible in water".